The Labour Party has promised to introduce reforms in the housing and property market to outlaw gazumping and make it unlawful for councils to provide planning permission to developers with a record of unfinished housing estates.
Party environment spokesman Eamonn Gilmore, reacting to a Prime Time investigation into the sector, said the programme was "a shocking and disturbing exposé of the practices of some auctioneers and estate agents, and of the general sharp practices and lack of regulation of housing estate management companies".
Independent Kildare North TD Catherine Murphy, who has been highlighting the issue of incomplete housing estates since she was elected in March last year, said three-quarters of unfinished homes were in local authority areas which have the worst ratios of Government funding to population.
Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins called for immediate legislation to police property management companies, which, he said, were a particular problem in his Dublin West constituency.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers advised anyone selling a property to use only the services of members of a recognised body such as itself or the Institute of Auctioneers and Valuers. Chief executive Fintan McNamara said: "Members of these bodies are trained in all aspects of auctioneering and have appropriate experience in the industry."